Find out more about our Living Seas work...

Living Seas are The Wildlife Trusts’ vision for the future of the UK’s seas.

What are Living Seas?

A rocky reef bursting with brightly coloured fish, corals and sponges? A boat trip in the company of leaping dolphins and playful seals? Fishermen hauling nets that are brimful of big, tasty fish? Living Seas are all these things and more.

But the UK’s seas are not Living Seas. Decades of neglect have left them damaged and degraded, a shadow of their former diversity and abundance. We urgently need your help to bring them back to life. The next five years are critical. It is literally ‘make or break’ time. With new laws and Government commitments in the offing, we have a ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity. If we make the very best of that opportunity, pushing every step of the way, our seas will turn the corner and start to recover their health. If we do not, they will continue on their downward spiral.

The Wildlife Trusts envisage that within Living Seas, marine wildlife thrives, from the depths of the ocean to the coastal shallows.

In Living Seas:

• Wildlife and habitats are recovering from past decline as our use of the seas’ resources becomes environmentally sustainable.

• The natural environment is adapting well to a changing climate, and ocean processes are helping to slow down climate change.

• People are inspired by marine wildlife and value the sea for the many ways in which it supports our quality of life